Resourcing

One of the most helpful – and perfectly timed – insights from last week’s Wisdom of Trauma conference was a newfound understanding of, and appreciation for, somatic resources for trauma.

Dr. Scott Lyons led a fascinating session exploring our own unique sources of safety, strength, and support. These are the objects, people, and actions that allow us to stay present with ourselves and our circumstances - whether traumatic or simply challenging - and hold our experience in the fullest way possible.

Resources can be found in many places, and we can recognize them by their steadying effect on us. They might be sensory experiences: giving ourselves a hug, smelling an evocative fragrance, visualizing our favorite shade of blue, or feeling the smooth surface of a river rock. They could also be relational or active experiences: the presence of a loved one, a meaningful ritual, dancing to a favorite song, or a simple act of play like a pillow fight.

Beyond these external sources of support, yoga offers abundant possibilities for internal resourcing. Over time, the breath, body, and awareness-based practices we most resonate with become a toolkit – an inner refuge – that’s available to us in daily life, not just on our mats or cushions.

Furthermore, the qualities we choose to cultivate in our practice, guided by yoga’s timeless wisdom, can serve as anchors to ground us during times of adversity and uncertainty.

As we intentionally develop compassion, non-harming, truthfulness, and myriad other heart qualities the tradition teaches, they provide a harbor amidst life’s stormiest seas.